Waiting for Anya

Waiting for Anya is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, first published in Great Britain in 1990, by William Heinemann. It is set in Lescun, in a mountainous region of southern France on the border with Spain. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was adapted as a film of the same title released in 2020. Characters Jo - The main character, a shepherd boy, around 12 years old. Benjamin - A Jew who smuggles other Jews across the border to Spain. He lost his daughter Anya, and is waiting for her to arrive in Lescun. Widow Horcada - A secretive old widow and Benjamin's mother in law. She is grumpy, but has a strong moral code. Grandpere- Jo's grandfather; involved in the smuggling of children. Hubert - A kind handicapped boy who is very good friends with Jo Papa - Jo's father, a prisoner of war (POW), who is in a German prison for most of the story and helps Jo smuggle the children to Spain. Rouf - Jo's faithful, cute, white, fluffy, dog. Michael - The leader of the Polish Jews, and the only one who interacts with Jo (through games of chess). He is noted to be extremely small, as he “looks about half [Jo's] age”, that is, 7 or 8 years old, despite being around the same age as Jo (15 years old). Summary The novel is set in the French village of Lescun during the Second World War. Jo Lalande is a young shepherd who is enjoying his childhood; but when his father goes to fight in the war, Jo has to become the man of the house. After an incident with a bear, Jo meets a mysterious man in the forest. He follows the man to his home and learns his secret - he is a Jew named Benjamin who is waiting for his daughter Anya to come find him as they were split from each other, and he is responsible for smuggling Jewish children to safety across the border into Spain, with the help of his mother-in-law, the Widow Horcada. Jo starts to help them to prove that he can be trusted.